Antietam National Battlefield - Sharpsburg MD

City:: Sharpsburg, MD
Site Type:: Civic Facilities, Military and Public Safety, Archaeology and History, Monuments and Memorials, Historical Restoration
New Deal Agencies:: Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civil Works Administration (CWA)

Description

The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862, and is known as the bloodiest day of the Civil War. General George B. McClellan and his Union forces faced off against General Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army at Sharpsburg, Maryland. When the fighting was done, well over 3,500 men were dead, and another 19,000 wounded.

Throughout the New Deal period, Antietam National Battlefield received a large amount of attention, funding, and work from the CWA, PWA, and WPA. The CWA placed a historical survey group there, circa 1933-34; the PWA funded restoration of large buildings and monuments, such as the War Correspondents Memorial Arch; and the WPA improved roads, graded and landscaped the grounds, reset monuments, constructed retaining walls, restored bridges, assisted with the 75^th anniversary events of the Battle of Antietam, performed extensive work on Antietam National Cemetery, and more.

Source notes

Project submitted by Brent McKee

“Hagerstown Recalls Antietam,” by Arthur B. Musgrave, Baltimore Sun, June 13, 1937, p. 84.

“WPA Project Planned For Burnside Span,” Washington Post, September 18, 1940, p. 24.

“Two Maryland Projects Approved By Roosevelt: WPA Allotments Provide For Work Records And For Improving Antietam Battlefield,” Baltimore Sun, May 4, 1941, p. 21.